Kathleen Kennedy Townsend - Post Political Career

Post Political Career

Townsend, along with siblings Robert and Kerry, endorsed Hillary Rodham Clinton for President in the 2008 Democratic primaries. Subsequently, other family members (siblings Rory, Max, mother Ethel, cousins Caroline and Patrick and uncle Ted) endorsed Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination. Once Obama won the nomination, however, Townsend and her siblings Robert and Kerry supported him in the general election.

Since leaving office, Townsend has written the book, Failing America's Faithful: How Today's Churches Are Mixing God with Politics and Losing Their Way, (Warner Books, 2007, ISBN 0-446-57715-4). Townsend also contributes to The Recovering Politician website started by Jonathan Miller.

She is an adjunct professor at the Georgetown Public Policy Institute, a visiting fellow at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, and senior Nitze fellow at St. Mary's College of Maryland.

In December 2010, she was appointed chair of American Bridge, a new non-profit that will raise funds for Democratic candidates and causes, and that is intended to be a Democratic counterpart to right-leaning organizations such as American Crossroads and Crossroads GPS. She noted that the Democrats did not have such an organization during the 2010 election cycle, and that Republicans outspent the Democrats by $70 million. "I want to compete dollar to a dollar with the Republicans and I want to beat them," she said.